The 2007 Giro D'Italia winner Danilo Di Luca should serve a two-year ban for a doping offence, the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) said.

The ban must be rubber-stamped by a sporting judge and refers to a doping test Di Luca took after the 17th stage of last year's Giro.

CONI made the surprise announcement on its Web site (www.coni.it) after months of wrangling over whether Di Luca's results from the test last May had broken any doping rules.

Di Luca was given a three-month ban by CONI in October for a related doping matter. He was punished for his involvement with Carlo Santuccione, a doctor accused of supplying doping products to athletes.

The rider, who joined the LPR team from Liquigas in November, has always denied wrongdoing and has appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport over the three-month ban.

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